Many types of telecommunications cable connector plugs contain release levers. These types may include modular plugs such as foil twisted pair cable plugs, RJ-plugs such as RJ-45 plugs, and plugs for optical cables. Inserting a plug into a jack may cause the release lever to snap into a locking position against a portion of the jack. In the locking position, electrical contacts from the plug and the jack may engage, establishing an electrical connection between a cable terminating at the plug and a cable terminating at the jack. The plug may be released from the locked position by compressing the release lever. Manual release of a plug requires access to the plug to compress the release lever.
Crowded conditions at telecommunications devices in which the jacks are installed may render access to the release levers for manual removal of telecommunications cable connector plugs difficult. Servers in a complex of servers and, in particular, 1U servers in server racks, may be spaced very closely together. 1U servers are very thin, with a vertical dimension of less than 44.45 mm (less than 2 inches). 7 of them are often placed in a 7U server rack. 1U server applications almost always require latching RJ-45 connectors to be accessible at the rear of the system. The rear of the server rack may be very crowded. To meet thermal challenges, a perforated horizontal wall may be placed above the connectors at the rear of the system to provide for more exit airflow. Additionally, labeling for these connectors may be provided. Most of the time, labeling is added to a shelf under the connectors. As a result, a user may have difficulty in accessing the release lever to compress it or in seeing the release lever in the clutter around an installation of telecommunications devices. To gain access to a release latch on a telecommunications cable connector plug, it may be necessary to first move other equipment, a burdensome operation. Further, the moving may result in interruptions in service.
One alternative is the use of a tool such as a flat blade screw driver. This alternative may be awkward, because there is often not space to get close enough to use the blade and the blade of the screw driver may not be very effective. Custom tools may prove expensive or may be misplaced. Another device contains a spring loaded part that, when depressed, traverses horizontally. A ramp on the part engages the release lever to unlatch the connector. With the method, visibility of the touch point is limited. It may be difficult to spot the spring-loaded part. Secondly, access to the touch point is limited by the space available above or below the connectors. In addition, this method has a potential for jamming the RJ-45 release lever, since the part traverses normal to the tip of the release lever on the RJ-45 connector.